Month: August 2019
Eastern Point Trail, Trout River NL
Eastern Point trail begins not too far from this unique scene in Trout River.
Trout River, population 552, is located on the west coast of Newfoundland. We had a couple of hours between events at the nearby Writers At Woody Point event and decided to drive to Trout River. We did a little walkabout in the community and then hiked this trail.
Not a long hike (3 km return), but very picturesque with a variety of seascapes and wildflowers
We are all creative.
We are all artists of some kind.
some are better than others,
a few are geniuses.
But we all have a creative spirit.
Allow it to rise up.
Nurture it, challenge it.
Give it freedom.
Celebrate it.
Patrick Lindsay
Seeing this, I immediately thought of Newfoundland artist Gerry Squires.
Best known for his dramatic landscape paintings in oil and acrylic, as well as his portraits and surrealist paintings, Squires also worked as a sculptor, print maker and newspaper artist. Squires was born in Change Islands but spent much of his childhood on Exploits. From a CBC News article October 4, 2015
Potentilla
Walking is good for solving problems – it’s like the feet are little psychiatrists.
Terri Guillemets
Days of many tales, some trails and glorious wildflower treks.
Writers At Woody Point is an event that has been on my bucket list for a few years and last week my husband and I finally made it happen. It is five days of storytelling, music and readings by amazing authors. It is indescribable to have so many new experiences, to hear, and be in the presence of, such talent and such breathtaking scenery.
The veterans will tell you that this is an immersive experience- you don’t so much attend it as live it. Stephen Brunt, Artistic Director
Out and about in Woody Point.
The writers at this year’s event were Melissa Barbeau, Dave Bidini, Lindsay Bird, Jeremy Charles, Megan Gail Coles, Mark Critch, Lorna Crozier, Michael Crummey, Anthony De Sa, Linden MacIntyre, Randall Maggs, Des Walsh and Meg Wolitzer! There were free events as well as tickets for purchase for others. What a line up! Writers At Woody Point is one class act. ……..yes Meg Wolitzer , author of The Wife, was there!
……..and she graciously agreed to a picture on our Writers in the Wild trek.
Meg Wolitzer I bought her newest book, The Female Persuasion and loved it. Check out her other great books through her link.
The line up of hosts was equally impressive…..Shelagh Rogers, Angela Antle, Ian Brown, Tom Power and Miranda Hill.
Musicians and performers were Barney Bentall, Anita Best, Matthew Byrne, Rose Cousins, Dark By Five, Jeremy Dutcher, David Ferry, The Once, Sandy Morris (he’s everywhere! How does he do it?!), Shane Murphy, Jodee Richardson and Sherry Ryan. So much talent.
Jeremy Dutcher
I hadn’t planned on attending his concert, but during the day I became intrigued because I heard such phenomenal things about him. Luckily a lady was selling her ticket and my husband was in ‘the right place, at the right time’. Jeremy is a member of the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick and
is a classically trained Canadian Indigenous tenor, composer, Musicologist, performer and activist.
A week later and I am still in awe of what I heard and saw.
Between events I went looking for wildflowers in Lomond and Woody Point. Beautiful Asters, Queen of the Meadow, Tansy Ragwort and Joe Pye Weed.
Writers in the Wild did not disappoint. Readings and singing by Meg Wolitzer, Rose Cousins and Jodee Richardson.
As we were walking back the trail, we had another huge surprise waiting! Jeremy Charles of Raymond’s Restaurant was in the bush cooking us ravioli filled with wild rabbit, chanterelle mushrooms and partridgeberries. No words are needed.
The following day, members of Qalipu First Nations end our educational Medicine Walk with soul stirring drumming and chants.
Be proactive and mark August 13-18, 2020 on your calendar now. Writers At Woody Point will be hosting its 17th annual event.
Comfort Cove Wildflower Walk
The best that can be said of my knowledge of wildflowers is that I know very little but I like them. I like learning about them, searching for their identification through books, asking other people, from wildflower experts and the Wildflowers of Newfoundland and Labrador FB page.
Some friends and I did a little walk about the Cove on a lovely sunny morning and together we studied the wildflowers growing by the side of the road in Comfort Cove. These I believe are pretty common wildflowers but oh so pretty.
Wild madder/Bedstraw
This one took a little time, but was ID’d by members of Wildflowers of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is further described as a roadside mix, dumped by contractors doing road work. I, for one, am so glad they did…growing all along the roadside of Comfort Cove-Newstead they make quite the visual statement.
I took this picture on one of my solo walks in Newstead. A variety of Daisy…Ox eye, English, some other???? not sure. As children we called them Bachelor Buttons and would pull off the petals one by one, reciting “he loves me, he loves me not.”
St. John’s Wort
I like wildflowers, I like how they grow anywhere…in fields, among rocks, bogs, roadsides, between old boards, barrels, on barrens…simply wherever they feel like it. They always seem so happy and free and for the most part co-exist happily together, sometimes invading each other’s space.
On a recent medicine walk in Woody Point NL, I learned that the leaves of the common Yarrow can be inserted in wounds to stop bleeding. Also the whole plant can be thrown in a fire to drive away flies.
You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel free. Wildflowers by Tom Petty
Bring your enthusiasm for life with you everywhere you go, and it will be contagious. Dr. Bernie S. Siegel
Butter and Eggs
Butter and Eggs
Go outside, walk, walk and then walk some more, see and explore, learn and marvel.
Smith’s Lookout, Twillingate NL
Not in the mood to hike one of Twillingate’s fabulous trails ( I have done them before), I walked in Twillingate just looking at the wildflowers.
Cow parsnip, daisies, and the very tenacious bluebell/harebell. I so admire these little flowers. Just a short way down the road I saw the Smith’s Lookout sign and decided to climb up there again. A very short hike with a great view.
A memorial……. and what a fitting site they chose.
There are things we will never see, unless we walk to them. In Praise of Walking, Thomas A. Clark
Explore, see and absorb all that nature has to offer.
Pike’s Arm Lookout….a short trek.
Josie’s B&B Click this link for more information and click accommodations, if you are looking for a place to stay.
Pike’s Arm is located on New World Island, Newfoundland, approximately 20 minutes from Twillingate.
tripadvisor reviews refer to this place and trail as a “hidden gem amazing 360 degree views”
I don’t need your praise to survive. I was here first, before you were here, before you ever planted a garden. And I’ll be here when only the sun and moon are left, and the sea, and the wide field. I will constitute the field. The Wild Iris by Louise Gluck
A very small community, but this takes work. A job well done.
We met a tourist from Ontario at the top. A kindred spirit …goes off the beaten path.
My favourite scent…blackberry bushes in summer.
Ode to the Blackberry Bush
(with apologies to John Denver)
by Carol Fudge
You fill up my senses
with a yearning for long ago moments
like lilacs in summer
like a storm in the cove
like seagulls crying
come fill me again.
Come let me inhale you
let my mind gently wonder
let peace flow through me.
Let me walk through your bushes
let me sit down beside you
let me always remember.
Come let me touch youcome fill me again.
You fill up my senses
like newly cut grass
like the warmth of the sun
like the smell of the ocean
come fill me again.
Go… explore, go off the beaten path.
Treks Trails & Tales 